Lawrence United Methodist Church

CONSULTATION REPORT

January 27, 2013

Introduction

We, the Fruitful Congregation Journey (FCJ) consultation team, would like to thank Pastor Joe Johnson, the staff, lay leadership and congregation of Lawrence United Methodist Church for the invitation to consult with this Body of Christ. The following observations and prescriptions are the result of this team studying the following information: a) Lawrence UMC’s self-study document provided by its leaders, b) Lawrence UMC’s members completing the FCJ survey, c) the report from the Mystery Guest Worshippers provided by Faith Perceptions, d) interviews with the pastor, staff and ministry team leaders, e) a focus group with members of the congregation, f) a meeting with the Church Council, g) a MissionInsite demographic report of the area’s population, and h) input from Saturday’s leadership workshop.

Our prayer is that God will use this assessment experience and consultation report to help Lawrence UMCmore effectively make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the community and the world.

Strengths

Lawrence UMC’s greatest strengths are as follows:

  1. SUPPORTIVE, PRAYING CONGREGATION

When asked to identify the best thing about Lawrence UMC, the first response heard by the consultation team was most often “its caring people.” Lawrence UMC was identified as “an easy place for anyone to feel welcome and get comfortable.” The congregation responds to needs in the lives and families of its members with caring, encouragement and prayer. Prayer groups meet daily from Tuesday through Saturday. In addition, for years a group has met to pray on Wednesdays. These intercessors routinely lift up in prayer the needs of persons within the church family and beyond the church. Persons we interviewed talked with great joy about how the people of the church have come around them, prayed for them and brought food to them when they were ill. People at Lawrence UMC share the love of Christ in the Body, making it a caring place to belong.

  1. COMMUNITY OUTREACH MINISTRIES

Lawrence UMCis clearly committed to and feels responsible for making an impact for Christ in its community. Leaders interviewed by the consultation team spoke of their own passion for community outreach. The survey completed by members of the congregation named outreach ministries over and over again as some of the most significant things in the life of the Church. Outreach into the surrounding community is reflected by the diversity of the worship services which include persons of color, persons of all age groups and persons of various income levels. Programming that seeks to connect with and impact the community include the Youth Corps, Lawrence Summer Kids Camp, Oil Change ministry, the Fish Fry and Strawberry Festival, Java for Jesus , Winsome Wednesday’s, Mozell Sanders Thanksgiving Dinner and hosting an MLK event for a cluster of churches. The dreams and vision of Pastor Joe and leaders of the congregation interviewed by the consultation team repeated frequently the hope that outreach to the community will increase and grow in impact in the future as Lawrence UMC brings LIGHT to its community.

  1. PASSIONATE, CREATIVE PASTORAL LEADERSHIP

Pastor Joe is a gifted spiritual leader, preacher and shepherd. His 13 years at Lawrence UMC, combined with significant gifts makes him a valued asset. Results taken from the report of the Mystery Guests note that his sermons and speaking delivered results far above average, and individuals consistently rated his sermons as “very engaging,” “relevant,” and “easy to understand.” Pastor Joe is also held in the highest esteem by members of the congregation from every age, ethnic and socio-economic segment. Every participant when speaking of Pastor Joe indicated they had a personal and spiritual relationship with him, and he is the glue that binds everyone together. He is also credited with a number of the most successful current outreach programs. Pastor Joe is limited only by his own energy and the hours in the day.

  1. DIVERSITY

In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. famously declared that "Eleven o'clock Sunday morning is the most segregated hour of the week.” Not so at Lawrence United Methodist Church.All shapes, sizes, ages, and ethnicities can find a place to worship together at Lawrence. On any given Sunday morning, during weekdays in the Lawrence UMC pre-school, in the daycare, and at virtually every outreach ministry throughout the year, diversity is a 'given' at Lawrence. The outreach ministries referenced above, among others, are proof that Lawrence UMC is a church that positively reflects its diverse community. In addition, the variety of both leadership and musical styles during Sunday morning services makes the statement to its members, constituents, and newcomers that Lawrence UMC lives and worships in an atmosphere where God can be given glory in a variety of ways. To walk through the doors of Lawrence UMC is to find 'people who look like me' – a place where anyone can feel comfortable and find a church home.

  1. MUSIC MINISTRY

Just as Lawrence UMC reflects the diversity of its community in terms of people it also serves as a center of rich diversity of worship and music styles. The church enjoys both an outstanding choir in the traditional service and an outstanding worship team in the Gospel service. Mystery guests rated the music above average. One 9:00 guest commented, “The music was lovely! The pianist and vocalist were both very talentedmusicians.” Another 9:00 guest shared, “The choir was very good so it was easy to get into what they weresinging.” One 11:30 guest said, "Iwould have paid for a ticket to hear this. I seriously think their Praise andWorship team could perform at venues.” The consultation team notes that Lawrence UMC is well positioned for the future with excellent musical talent and leadership and strong participation in music ministry for alive and vital worship.

Concerns

Lawrence United Methodist Church’s greatest areas of concern are as follows:

  1. LACK OF CLEAR, SHARED MISSION AND VISION

LawrenceUMC has a current mission statement that involves being LIGHT to the community which is beginning to become part of its mission and vision. However, the consultation team could discern no clear, shared vision for accomplishing this mission in the Lawrence community. Ministry leaders could not articulate their role in God’s mission to make new disciples, nor have they discovered the church’s unique mission to the community.

  1. UNINTENTIONAL HOSPITALITY AND ASSIMILATION

Hospitality involves doing everything possible to welcome new people to the church. The consultation team found that an intentional, consistent process is needed for in-church guest care, guest follow-up, or tracking of first time guests and newcomers to Lawrence UMC. This would extend to the way visitors are welcomed into the church. Mystery Guests found outdated and incomplete information on the church web site. This concern was echoed by leadership. Mystery Guests and consultation team members noted inadequate signage outside and within the church building.

  1. NO DISCIPLESHIP PATHWAY

There is no clear system to grow disciples of Jesus Christ at LawrenceUMC. There are no steps and pathways to move people of all ages from seekers to fully devoted and authentic followers of Jesus Christ. This is particularly clear in the gap between evangelism and discipleship in adult ministries. It is also apparent in the lack of coordination between weekday and weekend children’s ministries as well as special events for children. There needs to be an intentional discipleship process for all ages. How does a person:

  • connect to Jesus Christ and the church?
  • grow in their knowledge of the faith?
  • become connected to other believers for support and accountability?
  • become active in service to others for the purpose of sharing the gospel?
  1. STEWARDSHIP THAT DOESN’T SUPPORT MINISTRY

The church struggles with having enough financial resources to fulfill its ministries. Until the recent Capital Campaign, there has been inadequate discussion of giving as a spiritual discipline. The consultation team found a culture of fear and scarcity surrounding the church’s finances. The church must build a culture of faith in God’s provision and joyful generosity to replace the attitude that says “we can only do the ministries we can afford.”

  1. INSUFFICIENT LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

While the church has a number of experienced leaders, there is no intentional process or pathway to develop the next generation of leaders, leaving current servants in the “leader for life syndrome.”Lay leadership does not fully reflect the congregation’s diversity. Additionally, there is no evaluation tool to measure leadership effectiveness. The Pastor is constrained by a workload and range of activities that exceed healthy capacity. The pastor and volunteer leadership must work together to address this concern.

Prescriptions

In order to address the above concerns, LawrenceUMC must implement the following prescriptions:

  1. CLEAR, SHARED MISSION AND VISION

The congregation understands that the day this consultation report is accepted (should that be the case), this congregation will adopt the United Methodist mission statement, “to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world,” as its mission statement.

The congregation will have a day of prayer and forgiveness, to recapture the spirit of revival that empowers God’s mandate to make disciples. This will allow the membership to be fully prepared for the Lord’s vision for the future. This will be led by Paula Gast or someone she provides, in consultation with Pastor Joe, byApril 14, 2013.

Also, the coach will conduct a Visioning Workshop for the congregation. The purpose of this day is to begin to dream of how God wants to work through the congregation in the future, both individually and collectively, to reach the surrounding community. This workshop will occur on or beforeApril 30, 2013. Following the Visioning Workshop, the pastor, in conjunction with the coach and the leadership of the church, will create a vision statement which will guide the ministries of the church. This statement will be presented to the congregation byJune 2, 2013.

Upon adopting the new mission and vision, every ministry in the congregation must demonstrate how it will accomplish the mission and vision. To that end, the leaders will conduct an audit of all existing ministries. Any ministries not focused on the mission and vision will be given a year to adapt in order to fit the mission and vision statements or be dissolved. This audit must be completed byDecember 1, 2013. All new future ministries must demonstrate how they will be aligned to the mission and vision.

  1. HOSPITALITY AND ASSIMILATION

The Pastor in conjunction with the coach will assign a ministry staff person to lead, recruit and train a Hospitality Team. The Hospitality Team will serve as a connector for guests attending services on Sunday as well as other special events. The recruitment and training will be completed by April 7, 2013. The Hospitality Team will review the Mystery Guest Worshiper Report to develop ideas on improving the process of meeting and greeting new guests. The team will meet quarterly to evaluate their progress. This evaluation will include feedback from guests.

The Pastor, in conjunction with the coach, will recruit a task force of 3-4 people by April 7, 2013, to analyze interior and exterior signage, including visitor parking, from a guest’s perspective. Signage should make it easy for a guest to find restrooms, children’s area and sanctuary without assistance. Additionally, the task force will insure that updates of the web site and other electronic communications are completed. Recommendationswillbe made to the Trustees on or before June 16, 2013, to ensure implementation prior to August 1, 2013.

  1. DISCIPLESHIP PATHWAY

The pastor, in consultation with the coach, will put together a team of three lay leaders on or before April 7, 2013, to create a clear discipleship path for moving people from where they are on their spiritual journey to becoming a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ. The discipleship path will be designed for everyone, whether a non-believer or one who is maturing in their faith. This discipleship path will represent a lifelong process. The Team will discern a faith development plan within a Wesleyan model that encourages all persons:

  • to connect and grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ;
  • to help them be transformed by studying the principles of the Christian faith;
  • to provide connection opportunities with other believers for support and accountability; and
  • to be in service to others for the purpose of the mission.

The team will create a job description for a new staff position dedicated to Assimilation and Adult Discipleship, to be presented to the Staff and Leadership Development Team by June 15, 2013.

Additionally, the pastor in consultation with the coach will provide a training process to create the necessary opportunities (i.e. small groups, classes, Sunday school, missions etc.) for entry onto the discipleship path. This new process will be adopted and implemented in the life of Lawrence UMC at all ministry levels (children, youth and adults) by January 1, 2014.

To develop strong discipleship ministries for children, the Pastor, in consultation with the coach, will assemble a team of five persons by April 7, 2013. This team will:

  • Create and implement a security procedure for the Lawrence UMC Children’s ministries on or before May 15, 2013.
  • Revise the job description for the staff person who coordinates Children’s ministry at Lawrence UMC to focus solely on Children’s ministry, to be presented to the Staff and Leadership Development Team on or before June 15, 2013.
  • Conduct a thorough assessment of the all current Children’s ministries on or before September 8, 2013.
  • Conduct an assessment of the facility, related to needs for the future of the Lawrence UMC Children’s ministry and make recommendations for changes to the Trustee board, on or before September 22, 2013.
  1. STEWARDSHIP

The Pastor will contact and enlist the assistance of Kent Millard, the Indiana Conference Director of Generosity and Gratitude on or before May 15, 2013. The Pastor, in consultation with the coach, will put a plan together for a fall program to help the church practice extravagant generosity by August 15, 2013. This plan will use the Consecration Model to help people embrace the joy and privilege of tithing as a means of helping to grow God’s kingdom. This plan will conclude with a Consecration Sunday experience led by Kent Millard or a person of his choosing, on or before November 17, 2013. The congregation will be invited to indicate what they plan to give to God in 2014. This plan will also include classes on financial literacy through offering a faith-based financial workshop such as Good Sen$e or Financial Peace University to the congregation annually, beginning by January 15, 2014.

  1. LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

The pastor, in consultation with the coach, will appoint a Staff and Leadership Development Team, by August 18, 2013. This team will develop a comprehensive and intentional plan to develop and deploy staff and leaders for the mission and vision of the church. This plan will include the following three areas.

A.Leadership development and training:

  • Shared learning through guided study of FCJ leadership materials,
  • Regular training and leadership opportunities for lay ministry leaders,
  • Participating in the Accountable Leadership workshop led by the coach (by September 6, 2013),
  • The practice of mentoring others through the use of apprentice leaders or co-chairs,

B.Alignment with the vision (resulting from prescription one above):

  • Aligning all staff and ministry leaders with and for the mission and vision,
  • Ministry audit for alignment with the mission/vision,
  • Staff audit for alignment with the mission/vision,
  • Spiritual gift, personality profile inventories, and strengths resources,

C.Leadership and staff practices:

  • The continuation of spiritual disciplines—for example, prayer, retreats, tithing, regular worship attendance, service, and mission,
  • The use of goal-setting, as well as accountability for the goals,
  • Policies and procedures, how decisions are made,
  • Job descriptions.

Since the church is understaffed, attention must be given to the areas where more lay leaders and/or staff are needed. For Lawrence UMC to grow, reach young people, and make an impact in this community, it will eventually need additional staff.

This comprehensive plan will be completed by October 1, 2013.

Conclusion

We, the consultation team, want to thank you for the opportunity to serve your congregation through this Fruitful Congregation Journey assessment process. Our prayers and hopes for your congregation are that God will use this process to help your church become more effective and fruitful. May God give you courage and strength as you move forward.